Bowling pin



Feb. 19, 1946u H. E. McKENzlE 2,395,134

BOWLING PIN Filed Oct. 28, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l H; E. MCKENZIE Feb. 19, 1946.

BOWLING PIN Filed oct; 28, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l//. I| III. J

II lllllwvwllrllm Patented Feb. 19, 1946 4 BOWLING PIN Herman E. McKenzie, Big Bay, Mich., assignor to The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Chicago, Ill.,

Company,

a corporation of Delaware Application October 28, 1942, Serial No. 463,619

8 Claims.

This invention relates generally to bowling pins made of wood, and more particularly, to such pins having body portions made from tree sections not much larger in diameter` than the pin.

The most widely used method of producing bowling pins at the present time uses maple logs varying in size from about 14 to 36 inches in diameter and weighing, generally, from 750 to 2,000 pounds or more. These logs are cut to a suitable length, say 17 inches for regulation pins, and are then cut like a pie to provide segmental blocks. These blocks then have their corners cut off be fore they are placed in a rough turning lathe. The next step consists in coating the heart and bark surfaces of the blocks, as well as the end surfaces, with a lacquer or other sealing substance, so that, in the subsequent drying operation, cracking or checking in these areas is prevented.

It will be readily appreciated that the handling of such large logs and the cutting thereof into sections and blocks, requires the use of elaborate and expensive machinery handled by expert Workmen and that the result is a'bowling pin the exterior surface of which is partly of tangential grain, and partly of radial grain,

When subjected to repeated use, the body portions of pins of this type wear unevenly on their sides, principally at the widest part and at the bottom. Since the radial grain sides are only abouthalf as strong as the heart and bark or tangential grain sides (due to the bracing effect ci the medullary rays on the tangential grain sides) the result is that the radial grain sides chip and are otherwise broken down, while the tangential grain sides withstand better the impacts of the ball and other pins as well as the alley and adjacent objects which they strike. The quicker wear of the radial grain sides causes the pins to wear to an egg shape in cross-section at the widest part of the pins and at the bottom. When the bottoms of the pins attain such a shape they become unstable and the action of the pins varies depending on the position of the longer axis of the bottom, when placed upon the alley. It is generally estimated that the rapid destruction oi the radial grain sides of the pins cuts their life in half, compared with a pin having its body portion composed entirely of tangential grain.

If pins are made directly from sections of small diameter parts of trees so as to obtain an outer surface on the pins entirely of tangential grain, the pins would split open when drying, so this method is not practica having a body portion with tangential grain around its entire periphery.

Another object is to provide 4such a pin made up of two parts, a larger diameter part provided with a central bore to facilitate drying, and a smaller part of a size to fill the bore of the larger part after it is dried.

Another object is to provide a bowling pin cut from a section of a tree trunk or limb of a diameter, within the bark, slightly larger than the diameter of the rough block so that the outer surface of the pin is comprised `entirely of ,tangential grain.

Another object is to provide a bowling pin having at least its body portion formed from a central portion of a section of a tree, with the fibers in substantially their natural arrangement and the tangential grain symmetric or concentric with respect to the axis of the pin.

In pursuance of the foregoing and other objects, the invention utilizes a method of making bowling pins whereby sections of maple tree trunks or limbs of a suitable size, for example 51/2 to 8 inches in diameter inside the bark, are used. 'I'hese tree parts are cut to suitable length to form the larger or body portions of pins, and are then rough turned. The resulting blanks or blocks are then bored axially so as to remove the pith and provide a central opening of such size that during the drying operation the block will shrink or contract without splitting. This bore in a regulation pin block may be around 11A inches in diameter although the hole may be larger or smaller than this particular size. The ends of the block are then preferably sealed with a lacquer or other suitable checking seal, and dried. Ihe head and neck portions of the pins are formed in separate parts and provided with integral stems fitting into the bores of the body portions. After drying, the stems of the head portions are inserted and secured in the bores of the body blocks by pressing, or glue, or both. The

'- resulting pin blanks are then turned and finished.

Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the .accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a central section through a preferred form oi the invention; 4

Fig. 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on a reduced scale, of a section of a tree trunk or limb of a length Suitable for the body portion of a pin;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of such body section when rough turned and provided with a central bore;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of a cylindrical block of wood of a size to form' the head and neck and an integral stem;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the head-neck-andstem portion with the lower end turned to nt the central opening of the body portion of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is an elevational view showing the parts of Figs. 4 and 6 in assembled relation;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the bowling pin turned from the assembly of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a central section through another form of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a section along Fig. 9:

Fig. 11 is a central section form of the invention;

the line lill0 of through still another Fig. 12 is a section along the line l2--I2 of Fig. 11.

There is illustrated in the drawings and herein described in detail, three forms of the invention withthe understanding that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms shown, it being contemplated that various modifications and alternative constructions may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

`As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the invention in a preferred form is shown comprising a body portion and a head portion 2|, the head portion being provided with an integrally formed stem 22 which extends downwardly into a central bore 23 in the body portion. The body portion is formed out of a section of a tree trunk or limb, preferably maple, and of a diameter inside the bark sufficiently large to form a pin, when rough and finish turned. By using such a section of a tree trunk or limb the body portion is formed out of wood having tangential grain throughout its periphery.

The head portion 2l and its integral stem 22 may be made out of sections of the same kind of material, for example, from maple logs 8" or more in diameter, each such section provid' ing three or more head portion blanks.

There is illustrated in Fig. 3 a section 24 of a tree trunk or limb of a diameter suitable for the r manufacture of a body portion 20 of a pin. Preferably such a section of maple runs from 51/2 to 8 inches in diameter inside the bark, and is cut to a length of 10i/2 or 1l inches when used for making a pin like that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Before seasoning or drying, the rough section 24 is preferably rough turned and provided with a central bore 23, as illustrated in Fig. 4. After the rough turning and boring operations, this body portion blank or block is preferably coated on its ends with a suitable lacquer or other checking seal, and then dried. Although the drying may take place over an extended length of time and under more or less natural conditions, it is preferably accomplished in a relatively short length of time in a suitable dry kiln. It has been found that such a hollow block can be dried rapidly without any danger of cracking or checking. After the drying operation the bore through the block is reamed out to the desired size. Since the block, in drying, contracts uniformly s'o that the. dried block isA hardly distorted from the annular form of the un-dried block, the reaming can be readily accomplished. As shown -in Figs. 1 to '7 the bore through the block is preferably tapered, so as to facilitate assembly of the parts and provide an accurate nt.

The head portion of the pin. together with the integral stem 22. may first be made up in the form of a rough turned cylindrical member 25, as shown in Fig. 5. This part of the pin, as mentioned hereinbefore, may be made out of a part of a section of a tree, the part being rough turned to the form shown in Fig. 5 after it has been suitably dried or seasoned. This part of the pin is then formed with a taper on its lower end, as shown at 23 in Fig. 6, this tapered or stem portion being formed to fit tightly into the tapered bore of the body block 24. The parts are then assembled, preferably by gluing and pressing the stem portion of a head member into the body block so as to form an assembly as illustrated in Fig. 'I and as indicated in dotted outline in Fig. l. Thereafter the assembled pin blank is turned to the form desired, as shown in Fig. 8.

In the forms illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 a bowling pin is comprised of a body portion 32 having a straight central bore 33, and a head portion 34 provided with an integral stem 35. In this form of the invention the stem 35 is of uniform diameter, the parts being otherwise formed in the manner indicated in connection with the pin of Figs. 1'to 8 out of a body block or blank 38 and a head member 31.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 11 and 12 the exterior of the pin, including the head, neck and body portion, are formed integrally out of a section of a tree sufficiently long to form the entire pin. Here again the tree section is of a diameter slightly larger than the finished pin, so that when the pin is finished the entire exterior surface of the side of the pin is formed of tangential grain. The center of the pin is provided with a, bore 42, herein shown of slightly larger diameter through the body portion of the pin, the diameter of the bore through the upper portion of the pin being limited principally by the diameter of the neck of the nished pin. In this form of the invention the section of tree is first rough turned and centrally bored, then coated on its ends to prevent checking during the drying operation, and then seasoned or dried. Thereafter the bore is reamed to size and a central dowel or stem 46 is pressed and glued in place.

rIn each of the forms of the invention disclosed herein a bowling pin is provided having a body portion'formed entirely out of tangential-grain material, the grain of the material running substantially concentric of the pin. Thus the entire outer surface of the body portion is formed of the strongest grain available in the wood for this purpose. Since the grain is the same around the entire periphery of the body of the Din. the wear will be uniform, and since the toughest grain is used, the pin will have a longer life than one made out of asegment of a section of a tree. Furthermore, the uniform grain on the exterior of the pin will cause the pin to retain its circular shape both on the side of the body portion and at the bottom thereof. l This provides for more uniform action of the pins on the alley.

In addition to the uniform strength of the pins provided by the invention, and the long life thereof, the action of the pins on the alley is improved because the center of gravity of each pin is substantially on the centerline of the pin. This is due to the uniform texture and symmetry of the material with respect to the axis of the pin and the fact that during the drying opera- In the forms illustrated in Figs. 1 to 10 there is a maximum saving of material, in that the body portion blocks can be cut to a minimum length, as shown diagrammatically in Figs. 1 and 9 as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 7. In all o1' the forms disclosed, the body portions can be made out of relatively small diameter tree sections, i. e., 51/2 to 8 inches inside the bark. Such size sections are generally considered as waste material and are therefore available at a very low cost. Trees of the size providing such sections can also be handled easily in ordinary machinery, since it is merely necessary to cut the logs to the proper length to have them down to the rough form of Fig. 3, after which they are readily handled in the necessary turning and boring machines. l

lI Vclaim as my invention:

l. A bowling pin having an exterior body portion formed in a single piece from a log of a diameter larger than the nished pin and having its fibers in substantially their natural arrangement, said body portion being provided with an axial bore therethrough. substantially coaxial with the original log and which h as removed the pith, and a head and neck portion formed of wood and provided with a stem extending into and glued to the wall of said bore.

2. A bowling pin as dened in claim 1 infwhich the bore in the body portion is tapered so as to be larger at its upper end and the stem of the head and neck portion is correspondingly tapered.

3. A bowling pin having nanexterior portion formed in a single piece turned substantially coaxially from a section of a tree of a diameter only slightly larger than the finished pin and having its bers in their natural arrangement so as to provide an outer side surface comprised entirely member.

of tangential grain, said portion being provided with an axial bore therethrough, and a portion comprising a stem extending into and secured in said bore.

4. A bowling pin as defined in claim 3 in which the bore in the exterior portion is larger at its lower end and the stem is correspondingly shaped.

5. A bowling pin comprising a first part formed ina single piece from av log with the axis of the log corresponding substantially with the axis of the pin so as to form an outer surface comprised of a single piece of wood and entirely of tangential grain, said part being provided with an axial bore, and a second part fitted into and lling said bore.

6. A bowling pin having an exterior body portion formed in a single piece from a section of a tree of a diameter suflciently larger than the nnished pin to permit of turning to size after drying, and with the axis of the pin substantially coinciding with the axis of the section, and having its fibers in their natural arrangement.

7. A bowling pin formed from a log with the axis of the pin substantially coinciding with the original axis of the log so that the exterior surface of the pin is in a single piece of wood and of tangential' grain and uniformly strong, being circumferentially integral with its bers in substantially their original natural arrangement.

8. A fabricated bowling pin comprising a body member, a head member, and means securing said members in unitary relation, said means including a bore in said body member and a co-operating plug on said head member adapted to be received in said bore, said body member being formed of a unitary annual rings of the grain structure are unbroken and are concentric `with the axis of saidbody HERMAN E. McKENzIE.

piece of wood in which the 

